


Match Compeleted

by Candynova



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Best Friends, Disabled Character, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, How Do I Tag, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Madeline Appreciation, Matchmaking, Non-Canon Relationship, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-07-15 16:52:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16067315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Candynova/pseuds/Candynova
Summary: "Let's just call this the 'plan to get Richard Goranski the Jakey-D'!"Rich sighed."If you say that ever again I will personally make sure to strangle you."---Madeline (the schools token hoe) is now the appointed matchmaker™ For Rich. Her job? Get Rich with Jake.





	1. 1 - There's no turning back now.

**Author's Note:**

> It gets better later on in the fic trust me

To anyone who knew Rich, which at that point was the majority of the school, they could tell he wasn't in the best of moods. His dad had been particularly harsh as of late and it had began to pay a toll on the boy. Well, more so than it had been before. That wasn't to mention the normal stress of school and being late. But being late was now somewhat of a tradition for Rich now. Anyway, It was well known that when Rich was in a bad mood, you stayed out of the way but that fact didn't seem to have dawned on the girl currently stood infront of his locker.  
Someone Rich didn't exactly like in the first place. 

"You wanna move out the way of my locker or am I gonna have to move you?" He asked, not really caring about the harshness of his words. It was an empty threat considering he'd never actually harm a girl but he'd still hoped she'd move without further question.

The girl, Madeline, was a busty girl with brown hair and Hazel eyes. She was attractive, and was practically the token hoe at their school. Madeline looked down at Rich and raised one of her perfectly threaded eyebrows.  
"I really doubt you would be able to move me. You would probably fall over." She said, in an accent that was a mix of French and British. The school gossip queen, Jenna, spread a rumour that Madeline wasn't actually French at the end of freshman year, and it was still talked about a lot. Madeline never addressed the rumour and let people talk about her. Point is, Madeline loved the drama and attention, so messing with the 'bad boy' in front of her was no problem for her.

Rich frowned up at her, dispising his height for the millionth time but not making it known. Not to mention the fact he was actually proud he'd built up muscle. "As much as I know you'd love to have me on my back, I think I'm good" He mocked, throwing a wink in for good measure.

Madeline just rolled her eyes and blew him an exaggerated kiss. She moved slightly over so the boy could reach his locker, but she still kept an eye on him.

"There a reason you're watching me or what?" Rich asked, going back to a frown. He opened his locker and sifted through it looking for books he knew he wouldn't bother to open anyway.

Madeline rolled her eyes. "What's your big deal this morning? Your being a grumpy fuck" She said. She applied some more lip gloss and leaned against the lockers again

"What's it to you?" He retaliated, facing the girl again. Though he attempted to act casual as if he couldn't care less.  
Madeline shrugged. "Some of your friends are close to me I guess, you never seem this mad" she said, twirling a string of her hair with her finger.  
"Aw, how sweet of you to care" Rich mocks once more, putting a hand to his heart before rolling his eyes and slamming his locker shut.

Madeline rolled her eyes back. "It may be that or that I fucked one of your closest friends. Whatever fits" she shrugged.

Rich winced. Oh yeah, Jake and Madeline had been a thing a year back.  
"Well, why don't you go bother a close friend of someone else you've fucked. You've got half the school to choose from now, right?" He once again retaliated, too proud to just drop the subject and move on.  
'I could...but you're fun to wind up' Madeline responded. She looked Rich up and down. "Anyway, don't get salty just because you can't fuck anyone"

"And what makes you think that?" He scoffed. Rich was one of the most popular guys in school. Yet, being close friends with Jake meant, for the most part, he was always seen as second best. And it's not like he wanted to have sex necessarily. There was one person that he wouldn't mind having sex with, and god forbid if he ever told anyone out loud.

"Well, You always follow Jake around. And I've never heard anyone say they've fucked you" Madeline shrugged. 

"That doesn't mean anything" Rich frowned, running out of responses.  
He wondered why he was even having this conversation, much less with a girl he never normally talked to and didn't like. 

Madeline raised an eyebrow. "Riigghhtt" she replied.

"What do you want?" Rich asked with a sigh. He was too frustrated with everything else in his life that he no longer cared. There must have been some reason for the girl to continue on about his sex life.

"I mean, I can totally help you. If one good thing has come from being a big slut, is that I'm amazing at dating advice" she said, shrugging slightly. To be honest, Madeline was really bored. Helping set up the second most popular guy with someone would be interesting. 

"I don't need dating advice from anyone, especially you. If I wanted to be a slut, I could be. So you wanna back off?" Rich turned to walk away after his rant.

"Mm, whatever you say. Ask Jake for my phone number if you need it'" Madeline responded. She blew him a kiss and walked off

\---

 

Rich didn't often let people get to him, or at least he didn't like to show it but for some reason Madeline had. It was true that he was sick of being single but calling Madeline would just be giving in and proving her right. Still, he figured that maybe it would at least be some kind of fun and he needed a distraction. A voice in the back of his mind also wondered if Madeline actually could get him someone to date. He didn't even consider the fact that he would have to tell her who he in fact wanted.  
Giving in came in three steps. First, he asked for Madeline's number 'just incase', then he typed and retyped a message. Finally he gave in and called her once he'd gotten home.

Madeline picked up after a few rings. There was some rustling from the other end of the line and then he heard a voice say "hiya, who's this?"

Rich rolled his eyes at the fact he was actually doing this ,before answering.  
"Its Rich.."  
He could practically hear the smirk from Madeline on the other end.  
"Oh hey! Nice that you called. What's up?" Madeline said.

"Okay, so I thought about what you said earlier and maybe I do need help... Just, don't tell anyone" Rich replied, embarrassed to hell but attempting not to sound like it.

"Alright. Cool. So, who have you got your eye on?" Madeline asked, without a moment of hesitation. 

Rich held his breath. It was stupid for him to get worked up over something small like 'liking' someone, but then again, here he was.  
"You laugh and this conversation is over" Rich warned, sitting up straighter on his bed. He heard a muffled chuckle on the other end. "Sure, I'm not one to judge anyway" Madeline responded.

"This is stupid" Rich protested but continued. "But... I guess I have a thing for.. Jake" Rich mumbled, his voice gradually going quieter as he said the sentence. Rich knew it was incredibly cliché for him to like his best friend, but that was just the universe fucking him over.

"Mhm, alright. I can work with that" Madeline responded. The line was silent for a while and then Madeline piped up again. "Let's just call this the 'plan to get Richard Goranski the Jakey-D'!"

Rich sighed.  
"If you say that ever again I will personally make sure to strangle you."


	2. Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan gets started, and some Rich and Madeline bonding time !!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kudos and comments and reads on the first chapter! It means a crazy amount to me ! Hope you enjoy the chapter :)

"Right, so what do you want with Jake? Do you want to date him or..?' Madeline asked. She sounded surprisingly concentrated on the whole affair.

"I don't know..." Rich responded, though he supposed that was a lie. He knew he wanted to date Jake.that was obvious. Though surely he wouldn't think about him as much as he did just because of that fact. Rich tried to stay away from the whole 'feelings' thing. He lay down on his bed and stuck his phone on speaker next to him.

"God, you're hopeless" Madeline sighed. Rich rolled his eyes, although he knew Madeline couldn't see him.  
"If you want to date him you have to play it romantically. For just sex you'll have to be a bit flirty. It's all down to how you play it" she continued.

"Why are there so many fucking rules?" Rich groaned before rolling onto his stomach and propping himself up with his elbows. "I don't man, I just really like him."

"You can't argue with the rules, Rich." Madeline answered. Her tone was a lot more playful now. For around the twentieth time that day, Rich wondered why the hell he had gotten himself into that situation.  
"I'll start with something easy. Invite him to sbarros with you,he loves that place" Madeline said.

"Duh, I know. I've been his best friend for a long time now" Rich huffed, before considering.  
"Fine, I guess, he probably won't suspect anything from me inviting him anywhere anyway."

"Alright. Call me back when you've asked" Madeline chirped, and With that she ended the call.

Rich opened up his messages and sighed. He wasn't sure why he felt so nervous. Normally he had confidence to spare, in public at least, but suddenly he was a wreck. After a good half an hour, Rich finally called Jake before calling Madeline straight after.

Madeline picked up immediately. "Yo! You do it?" She asked. 

"Kinda?" Rich answered, still confused at the situation himself. "I asked if he wanted to go to sbarros and he said 'sure, who else is going?'. So I said you and Brooke'."

Though Rich had been a nervous wreck and had in no way meant to panic and say other people would be going, he spoke in a way that could almost fool you to believe that's what he was meant to do in the first place. This was clearly not the case.

Madeline sighed. "Really, Rich? You had one job. Ah well, I'll find an excuse to leave with Brooke so you can be alone with him"

"It's harder than it seems" Rich protested. "You'll figure something out" he groaned.

"Guess I'll have to. Wow, you seem really new to this asking people out thing' Madeline muttered. 'Looks like Mr Popular doesn't get around that much' she laughed.

"Just because I've never dated doesn't mean I don't get around" Rich argued,shrugging despite the fact he knew she couldn't see it. That was before the realisation that he'd revealed more than he wanted to set in.

"You've never dated!" Madeline screeched, Rich could hear the grin through the phone screen and winced.

Rich paused for a moment as he attempted to think of a loophole out of what he'd just admitted to. Though, it didn't take long for him to realise there wasn't one. "No... But that doesn't mean I can't get girls,, and guys"

"Obviously it does mean you can't get someone, but that's okay! That's why I'm here" Madeline grinned.

Rich rolled his eyes at her again (despite her still not being able to see it) but decided to not comment. "So Sbarros after school tomorrow, are you coming?"

"I guess I'll grab some food while I'm there" Madeline agreed. "I'll make sure to leave you and Jake alone" she added.

"Good, yeah..." With that, Rich suddenly heard the front door slam. "I have to go but I'll see you tomorrow"

"Uh.. by-" Madeline started, but Rich cut her off by ending the call before she could finish. 

Rich did not want Madeline knowing about his dad.

\---

 

The next day Rich showed up late to school for what must have been the hundreth time. Not that he minded so much. He'd once been told that being late made people more anxious for his arrival. Though he wasn't sure why he still did it. The first thing the boy did was head for his locker.

Madelines locker was near to Rich's, as they had found out yesterday, so she was at her locker. She was scrolling through Instagram and chatting with her friends, rather obnoxiously.  
Rich, this time, stayed quiet. Though he did roll his eyes at the scene before him. However, at least he could reach his locker.

Madeline moved away from her friends and to Rich. "Hey, shorty! How's life?" She said, grinning.

"Well it would be a lot better if you didn't call me that" Rich stated with a sarcastic smile. "Or if I didn't have you and your obnoxious friends outside my locker".

Madeline turned around and looked at her friends. "Hey guys, I'm going to have a chat with Rich over here. Mind moving away?" She asked. She faced Rich again. "Problem solved" she replied.

"You didn't actually need to do that" Rich admitted, surprised that she'd actually been nice despite his rude behaviour.

Madeline shrugged. "We took up way too much space" she replied. "So! What's your first class?" She asked, in a surprisingly excited voice.  
"French, I guess" Rich replied, glancing at a clock on the wall. He didn't particularly like French but his brother had told him choosing to do a language was important, so he did. He usually did what his brother said.

"Oh, same. I normally sit at the back and ignore everyone. Come sit with me if you want" Madeline offered. "And since I know French I can give you answers!"

"How do you know I'm not actually some French mastermind and don't need the answers?" Rich joked with a small laugh. Madeline raised an eyebrow "Do you want me to answer that?"

"I'd be offended ,but I see your point" He shrugged. With that, the bell sounded. "You ready to go?"

"Sure" Madeline responded.  
Rich then realised that people would probably think Rich was one of Madelines many boyfriends, but he decided that would probably be better for his rep.

Rich stayed quiet for the majority of the short walk to the classroom. He passed people that he used to make fun of but no one bothered to question his unusual behaviour.  
Madeline blew kisses to the people who stared. People looking at her wasn't an unusual occurrence. They got to the French class and she sat at the back.

Rich sat with Madeline at the back earning even more strange looks as the boy was normally found close to the front in order to terrorise the poor teacher. "What?" Rich asked with a dangerous look. The class turned away and the small boy mentally thanked the fact he was still extremely popular and held power.

Madeline laughed. "God, so many kids in here are terrified of you" she said, with a smile.

Rich shrugged, sitting down. "You have your skills, I have mine" He stated with a cocky smirk.

"Neither of our skills are necessarily good, but then again here we are" she replied

"Speak for yourself, being feared has it's perks" He shrugged as the teacher entered the classroom.

"So does sleeping around" Madeline shrugged.

Rich rolled his eyes "Oh yeah, like what?" He asked, a little quieter than before as the lesson began.

'"I can blackmail, I know literally everyone in this school, I'm popular" she smiled.

"Popular people are messed up" Rich decided out loud. After all, he would know, he was one.

"Agreed!" Madeline laughed.  
Many people looked over at them but she just winked. People weren't really used to the two popular kids smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The squip squad is being introduced next chapter!! I'm excited to show you guys my take on the full squad!
> 
> Also, My posting schedule was going to be Saturdays, but I've decided to just go whenever aha.
> 
> And Madeline is such a dork, as you will see later on. I love writing her as later on I'll be able to project a part of myself on her and I love doing that.
> 
> Comments and kudos mean the whole world!! Hope you enjoy reading -  
> Nova :)


	3. The squad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s lunch time with the squip squad, but this time with an added Madeline. Naturally, Rich fucks up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Hope you enjoy this chapter! I cannot believe I have 195 hits. It’s mental and I never believed people would read this! Comments and kudos make my heart go boom <3

Rich chuckled slightly to himself at the exchange but didn't say anything about it. It was definitely odd for him not to be making some sort of disturbance but he found when actually listening to the teacher, he learned things.

Rich felt Madeline looking over his shoulder. “Oh, that's the wrong tense” she said, pointing to one of his sentences.

"The fuck is a tense?" He asked with a frown. He was so sure he was finally picking up on the subject.

“Yknow, future, past and present tense?”  
Madeline said. She grinned at how confused he looked.

Rich thought for a moment, staring at the words on his page as if it would help to make more sense. "No..." He admitted, defeated.

“Well, it's pretty important for the language” she said, with a giggle. She wrote some stuff on her paper and pointed. “These are the present tense word endings”

—-

Rich had managed to stay fairly quiet through the majority of the lesson but eventually the states wore off. He listened to Madeline teach him about the conditional and infinitive or whatever and tried his best not to flick paper at the kids infront of him. His classmates just figured the boy was trying to lay low after he'd quite literally burned down his friend's house, which he was glad hadn't been brought up yet. He packed his things back in his bag before the bell had gone so he could leave as fast as possible.

Madeline packed her things up too. When the bell went she turned to Rich. “See you at lunch? I can help you out with.. him” she said, smiling.

"Yeah, sure" He shrugged, picking up his bag and leaving the classroom as fast as possible. Only after he left the classroom did he realise that Chloe sat on his table, who despised Madeline with her whole heart. Rich wondered how the table would react when Madeline sat down with them. 

He’d worry about that later.

——

When the bell finally rang for lunch, Madeline walked out of class with a few of her friends. She entered the lunch hall and spotted rich.

Rich was seated at his usual table, surrounded by Jake, Brooke, Jenna and unfortunately, Chloe. 

Madeline sat herself down at the table. “God, I need a fucking coffee” she groaned.

Rich almost choked on his drink at Madeline's forwardness. He attempted to stifle a laugh on seeing Chloe's expression turn sour. "Hey Madeline" He greeted her, pulling a face at Chloe that basically said 'get over it'.

“Wow, everyone seems to be in an amazing mood!” Madeline responded. She grinned at the silence.

Chloe was the first one to break the silence, asking Madeline what she wanted in a sharp tone. Rich didn't say anything, amused by the situation.

“Well, Chloe, i would respond to that but I can't take you serious in that dress. You look the donkey from shrek.” Madeline shrugged. She said all of this in a fairly upbeat tone. 

This time the whole table laughed, minus Chloe - of course - who's face had turned redder than Rich's hair. Her mouth was slightly open like she was deciding whether to reply back or not, she must’ve not been able to come up with a comeback though, since she closed her mouth. The others greeted Madeline then, deciding she must be okay.

Madeline smiled. “Anyway, how are you all?” She asked.

Before anyone else got the chance to say anything, Brooke has started on what the other four knew was going to be a long rant. It was obvious that Chloe and Jenna had switched off, but Jake seemed interested. To make it seem like he was active in the conversation, Rich supplied some sarcastic answers to Brooke’s questions. Every time Rich made a particularly funny statement, Jake would let out a little snort or laugh, this made Rich do his little ‘shy/awkward smile’ (as noted by Madeline). Suddenly a petite Asian girl bounded over to their table, and sat down.

“I CANNOT believe that we’re not doing Shakespeare this year. Mr Reyes PROMISED us!” She huffed, speaking with many hand movements. Madeline didn’t remember ever seeing this girl before, but since she sat herself down comfortably, she must’ve been a regular on this table. 

“Hey Christine!” Jenna said, nodding slightly. She seemed to have woken up from the slumber she was in while Brooke was talking. The rest of the table also added a few ‘heys’ and ‘yo’s’ too.  
Christine began a conversation about the new play, which surprisingly the whole table got involved in. 

“You guys, I totally want to join the play this year, think of how lit that would be!” Jake mused. Rich choked on his fries, unsuccessfully covering up his surprise. Jake faced him with a look of concern.  
“Bro, you okay?” He asked.  
Rich nodded, coughing. He could feel his face getting red, which was not helping his case at all.

Madeline passed Rich a bottle of water. “Rich, you just ate one of my fries. No wonder you’re choking. They’re chilli flavour” she said. Madeline was VERY good at lying, so this came out naturally.

Rich smiled gratefully at Madeline. “Uh, yeah. How the hell do you eat those things?” He responded.

Jakes concerned look had faded, and he was now trying not to laugh. “You choked on chilli fries? That’s such a Rich thing to do” He chuckled.  
Rich shrugged, with a grin.

When Jake had finished laughing he went back to eating his food, with a smile on his face.  
“So, Sbarros after school, right?" Jake asked, causing Chloe to frown, claiming she never got an invite. Rich looked to Madeline in a sudden panic.

'Well, I'm going. So unless you want to hang out with me..?' Madeline said. She gave rich a reassuring smile

“Actually, I'd love to come" Chloe responded with a challenging look. Brooke frowned at her best friend, as it was known that Chloe hated Madeline. 

'If you insist' Madeline shrugged. She'd probably get in an argument with Chloe so they could leave and leave Rich and Jake alone.

Rich mentally face-palmed. This wasn't at all going to plan but he kept calm on the outside, turning to talk to Jake in an attempt to block it out.

As if the atmosphere on the table couldn’t get any tenser, Jenna turned to Madeline and Rich.  
“By the way, are you two dating?” She asked them.

Rich’s eyes widened. “No! Not at all!” He exclaimed.

Jake raised an eyebrow. “Calm down bro, she’s asking a question” he said.

Madeline had a smirk on her face. “No, we’re not dating.” She confirmed.

Jenna nodded, looking slightly disappointed. Chloe and Brooke were not interested and Christine had run off to talk to her other friends, Jeremy and Michael.

Jenna started to talk again. “But, are you sure though? You guys seem really close so suddenly” she said.

“Seriously, shut the fuck up Jenna. Haven’t you got anything better to do than get in others business?” Rich snapped.

Jenna’s expression dropped, and it looked like she was trying to keep in tears. Jake glared at Rich.  
“What the fuck Rich. How could you say that to Jenna” he exclaimed. Jake gave Jenna a soothing look and followed her out of the cafeteria, wheeling his way out with his wheelchair.

Rich’s eyes widened. “Wait Jake-“ he called out, but Jake had already left the cafeteria. Rich let out a strangled groan.

Chloe and Brooke had already left the table before all the drama, so the only people left on the table was Rich and Madeline.

“Are you okay?” Madeline asked, scrunching her eyebrows up. 

Rich nodded. “It’s whatever.”

Madeline knew not to ask further. She just nodded back.

"I'll see you after school I guess" Rich said, shrugging before walking away. It took him about five steps down the hall before he shoved someone random into a locker in a temper before continuing to walk. He usually walked to his next class with Jake, but assumed he would have to walk there himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rich always screws up :) (that’s meant to be a passive aggressive smile) Anyways!! Hope you enjoyed! Jeremy and Michael to properly get introduced and the gang will be v prominent in this story.
> 
> Comments and kudos make my dead heart feel emotions!
> 
> \- Nova <3


	4. Sbarros and panic attacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang goes to Sbarros and Rich gets sad at some point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took so long to write as I was super uninspired. Sorry if this is boring, my ideas were not there for it.

Rich had left his classes a little early, walking out without a thought. To say he was stressed was an understatement but Rich acting out wasn't exactly out behaviour. He texted Madeline quickly as he sat just outside of the school, telling her where he was.

Madeline dropped off some stuff to her locker and then walked out of the school. She spotted Rich's red and blonde hair and walked over to him.  
“Yo!” She exclaimed, waving at him.

Rich looked towards where the voice had came from and stood up from where he was sat. "Hey, you seen the others?"

“I passed Jake in the hallway, he was putting stuff in his locker. Brooke and Chloe will probably be here soon too” Madeline confirmed, nodding.

Rich nodded "Why are you doing this for me again?" He asked. He couldn’t be worth the amount of planning, and not to mention how shit he actually was at ‘feelings’.

Speaking of, he should probably apologise to Jake and Jenna. Jake never seemed necessarily protective over Jenna, but then again, Jake was nice to everyone. Rich had to admit, him snapping at Jenna was pretty uncalled for, but she has to learn to stop prying for others information.

“It's fun! Also I like seeing people in stable relationships as I don't have one myself” Madeline shrugged. She saw the rest of the group approaching and waved.

Rich considered that. Most of the school thought Madeline was a drama-queen slut, but maybe she really did care about others. “You’re a good person, Madi” Rich said, smiling, before greeting the rest of the gang that had just arrived.

Madeline looked at Rich in shock. She gave a small thankful nod. 

Rich assumed that they would go in Brooke’s car, as it was the only one that actually worked.  
Sure enough, everybody squeezed themselves into Brooke's car. Madeline made sure that Rich sat at the front with Jake.

Rich rolled his eyes but sat down next down next to Jake, hoping Madeline's move to make sure he was on the front wasn't obvious. Although, they were best friends, so there should be no reason for that to be weird. Anyway, every time he went to make conversation with him, Chloe would interupt. Either Chloe knew that he liked him or she just really had a disliking for him and the thought made him suddenly uneasy. It wasn’t like there was any reason Chloe should be jealous, she dated Jake last year and they both broke it off, she should have moved on.

Madeline decided to get herself in a minor arguement with Chloe so that Rich could actually get a word out. When they pulled up at sbarros she got out the car.

Rich was thankful to get out of the car as soon as possible. He needed some air as nothing about this seemed to be going right. He thought about telling Brooke about his predicament but decided against it. Brooke was a great friend but he knew she had a habit of telling Chloe everything, and he certainly didn’t want to be outed today.

"Well this is going to be fun" He stated with heavy sarcasm as he passed Madeline.

Madeline stuck her tongue out. “Shut up! You came to me for help, remember? I thought best friends were supposed to, you know, talk and all.”

Rich rolled his eyes but smiled slightly, showing he meant well. It was hard to get Jake alone to talk to him, especially with Chloe around. "You started wondering how I'm even popular yet?" He joked.

“Actually yes, I've wondered that. But then again you're hot so I guess that's the reason” she shrugged.

"You think I'm hot?" Rich asked with a cocky smirk. He'd complain about the other comment later.

Madeline shrugged lightly, rolling her eyes. “Hotter than average, I guess. But don't get too over-excited, attractiveness is surprisingly not the only thing you need to get a date, and your ego does not need to get inflated.”

"No, I know. I'm just surprised you've actually just gave me a compliment" He laughed slightly, winking at her before catching up to Jake.

Madeline sighed and rolled her eyes. Somehow Jenna and Christine had tagged along with the group too. Madeline slowed down and talked to her during the short walk to sbarros.

Rich apologised to Jake about him snapping at Jenna at lunch, and Jake accepted the apology, although he knew that the apology wasn’t really meant for Jake, and more for Jenna. Even after all the drama was over, Rich couldn’t stop himself from yelling at Chloe to shut up when she was singing. This got many dirty looks from the girls. 

Rich shrugged as if he didn't care despite the fact he knew it wouldn't help his case in the slightest. He made sure to sit by Jake when they arrived to sbarros. As much as he hated to admit it, Jake definitely made him feel much calmer. He could be a shadow in peace.

Madeline sat opposite Rich and next to Brooke. Jenna was telling the table about some recent drama and everyone was getting involved in the conversation.

Rich was bored out of his mind and it was obvious. He'd roll his eyes every ten seconds or so and he'd spent most of the time talking to Jake rather than speaking to Brooke, Christine or even Madeline.

Madeline decided to make things more interesting. “Right, guys. Let's play truth or dare” she suggested. This got a positive reaction from the table.

Rich smirked at the suggestion. He was undefeated when it came to truth or dare. There was nothing he didn't dare say or do.

The table looked around at who would start. Nobody was particularly willing to begin the game.

"I'll start" Rich announced with a cocky look before choosing a victim. "Madeline. Truth or dare?"

“Uh.. truth” Madeline huffed. She was not going to humiliate herself in the shop.

Rich rolled his eyes, "boring". He thought for a moment before thinking of the first thing that came into his head. "Who would you most like to make out with in the school?" Rich wasn't the best at coming up with truth or dares, he was better at doing them.

Madeline rolled her eyes. Then hesitated slightly “I dunno, that new Italian guy is pretty cute?” she said. She leaned back against the chair. “Okay then, rich. Truth or dare?”

Madeline's response didn't shock anyone but it made Chloe mutter something along the lines of ‘slut’ under her breath. "Dare" Rich answered, immediately.

Madeline tilted her head and thought about it. She whispered something into Jenna’s ear and Jenna nodded, getting her phone out. “Kiss anyone on this table” Jenna exclaimed, a smirk on her face. Madeline laughed, figuring it would get some action.

Rich's cocky facade dropped in a second and he paused, thinking quickly. If he kissed Jake then it would give away that he liked him, and would make everything awkward as hell. Especially since the only one on the table that knew he was bi was Madeline and Brooke. It wasn't exactly the best situation to be in. "Nah, you gotta pick who"

Madeline smiled. She pretended to think about it. She paused for a minute before saying “Oh, I don't know. How about... Jake?” She shrugged. If she played it off as her idea it would seem much better.

Everyone on the table laughed or let out shocked noises. Jake raised an eyebrow.

Rich looked over to see Jakes reaction, in a panic. He thought about walking out of the sbarros there and then but that would never go down well for him or his reputation. 

Jake didn't seem too concerned. He rolled his eyes at Rich with a bemused expression. Madeline sat back and picked up some of her breadsticks. She was probably having way too much fun with this than she should have.

Rich gave Madeline a glare and shook his head, rolling his eyes. “You okay with that,, bro?” Rich asked Jake. Jake nodded, he looked like he was trying not to laugh. 

Chloe let out a over-exaggerated sigh. “Just kiss already and get the dare over with. You guys are a bunch of drama queens” she muttered.

Rich glowered at Chloe and kissed Jake, deliberately leaning over Chloe just to irritate her.

Madeline clapped slightly, with a smirk. Jenna was taking photos, but that's nothing new, she did that with everything. 

Rich pulled away before Jake could, making sure he didn't seem eager. Though he was pleasantly surprised when Jake accepted the kiss slightly before the kiss broke. His cheeks were flushed a dark colour but he played it as if he didn't care. Minus winking at Chloe just to annoy her even more than he already had.

Madeline grinned at rich. “Right! Who's next?” She asked, leaning back against the chair.

——

The game continued. Rich sat back and watched the game happen. At some point, a question got too personal for Christine, so she walked off into the bathroom, and all the girls followed her.

Rich didn't know what to think of the situation. He obviously couldn't follow after her so he sat in his seat and talked to Jake. He noticed the other two boys that had come with them, Michael and Jeremy, were sitting in the corner of the booth talking to each other. Rich decided that he may as well try talk to them. 

“So, Hows it going?” Rich asked, gesturing towards the two boys. They looked up at him. Jeremy, a brunette boy who’s face was covered in small freckles, had a very panicked look on his face. It was obvious that he was very anxious. Michael, on the other hand, was leaning against the back of the booth, one arm around Jeremy. He seemed pretty chilled.  
Rich hesitated at the lack of response. He finally got a “I’m pretty good” out of Michael, and a little nod out of Jeremy. 

Somehow, Jake managed to start a conversation with the two boys. Rich couldn’t help but notice Jeremy glance at Michael every few seconds. It was pretty obvious there was something there. Rich wondered if that’s how he looked when he was with Jake. He hoped not.

Christine slowly emerged from the bathroom with Madeline and the other girls with her. They sat back down and Christine looked better, a energetic smile on her face again.

"So, I guess we're done with that now" Rich joked in an attempt to lighten the mood. Though when that failed, he left to go order, motioning for Madeline to follow. 

"I think I'm gonna ditch" Rich stated with a shrug, when they arrived at the counter. “Not everyone is getting along and you are wasting your time".

Rich looked back at the table to see Jake laughing and flirting with Chloe. It’s not like that was a surprise or anything, but it still hurt him a little inside. That kiss they had in the game of Truth Or Dare was the closest Rich would get to having any sort of relationship with Jake, since Jake was the literal definition of Straight™️. The sporty, popular jock boy that has all the girls dropping at his feet. Literally, Jake-sexual was a thing in their high school.

It wasn’t ‘cool’ to like guys. Rich had already told himself that so many times that it was imprinted on his brain. Sure, Jenna was lesbian, but it’s considered ‘hot’ when girls like girls. If a guy likes another guy they’re just a weird homo.

Rich must’ve looked upset, since Madeline gave him a concerned look. “You okay?” She asked, and he nodded.

Rich nodded. “Yeah. I’m just gonna go to the bathroom, okay?” He said, and then turned away and walked to the bathroom. 

He didn’t actually know why he was having a panic attack, it’s not something he has very often. 

Okay, that’s a lie. It’s not something he has in PUBLIC very often. But here he was, standing in the filthy men’s bathroom, on the verge of tears.

As if the situation couldn’t get any worse, the door opened, and in entered Jake. He spotted Rich leaning against the wall and immediately scrunched up his eyebrows in a concerned frown.

“Bro, you okay?” He asked, walking up to Rich.

Rich’s couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t tell if it was his emotions, the memories of the fire, his father, or that stupidly cute face of Jakes making him cry. Maybe it was all of them. He broke down into full on sobbing.

Jakes eyes widened. He put an arm around Rich. Rich was never one for emotion, so seeing him crying was not something Jake was particularly prepared for. 

“Rich, lets get you home. Screw the others, okay?” Jake mumbled, handing some toilet roll to Rich for him to wipe his tears with. 

Rich accepted the roll gratefully. He was humiliated at himself. He was a stupid, worthless, homo that couldn’t even contain his emotions.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” Jake confirmed. He slipped out the bathroom, and came back a few minutes later.  
“I told the others that we were leaving. Want to come back to mine?” Jake asked.

Rich nodded. “I don’t know what I would do without you, Jake” 

Jake smiled. He lead Rich out of the bathroom and out of the diner. 

They walked back to Jakes house. Rich sent Madeline a little ‘I’m alright now’ text, and then sat down onto Jakes sofa.

Jake had already put a movie on the TV, and sat down next to Rich. Rich smiled. Jake knew Rich too well. Rich always calmed down when he was watching a movie.

Jake placed his head on Rich’s shoulder. He soon fell asleep. Rich smiled softly at Jake, knowing that the opportunity of having Jake fall asleep on his shoulder would not come often. Slowly, Rich fell asleep too, his head resting on Jakes.

Most people would call this gay. But no, they were just best friends. Even if Rich did like Jake, it’s not like they would ever be anything other than best friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I’m on a writers block so my brain was not into this chapter. Also this is the longest chapter I’ve written, crazy right?  
> Kudos and comments make my heart go like wow
> 
> \- Nova

**Author's Note:**

> Ok wow so I never realised how hard it was to start a fic until a week ago. I wrote like 50 different drafts and this still somehow sounds lame. Trust me the plot (and general writing) will get much better after this. If you have any suggestions DM me on @candycqne on insta, or just DM to chat!!  
> Kudos and comments would be amazing !!  
> -if you're still reading this far in im pretty shocked how did you power through this?-


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